Exhaust track sander apparatus



Sept 3, 1968 R. s. MCLEAN 3,399,911

EXHAUST TRACK SANDER APPARATUS Filed Nov. 17. 1966 2 sheetsrsheet 1 IN V EN TOR.

Sept. 3, 1968 R. s. M LEAN EXHAUST TRACK SANDER APPARATUS 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed Nov. 17. 1966 United States Patent 3,399,917 EXHAUST TRACK SANDER APPARATUS Ronald S. McLean, Box 29, Ranchester, Wyo. 82839 Filed Nov. 17, 1966, Ser. No. 595,215 1 Claim. (Cl. 2913) ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE Apparatus for providing sanders for slippery road service in which the sanding apparatus is provided with a power system including a heating unit for keeping sand or other dispensable granular materials from freezing Where there is moisture present therein.

The present invention relates to power truck sander apparatus and more particularly relates to an article of apparatus for providing the sanding on a slippery road surface directly in front of the driving wheels of the truck. The article described in accordance with the preferred embodiment of the present invention is known as a power truck sander. Its purpose is to deliver coal slack or sand to a slippery road surface directly in front of the driving wheels of the truck to which it is mounted.

An object therefore of the present invention is to pro vide apparatus for providing sanders that is strictly and simply a gravity system only without reliance on other type of mechanisms, which have been observed to the experience of applicant to be difficult in operation in adverse weather and other conditions. The sander of the present invention is a power system and includes a heating unit in which keeps the sand or other granular materials from freezing if there is any moisture present.

A further object of the present invention is to provide an agitator means for keeping the material from packing, freezing, and otherwise becoming a solid contiguous mass if there is moisture present which becomes frozen, so that the coal slack or sand which is dispensed from the power truck sander, is prevented from freezing and anger means forces it out so that there is positive dispensing of the material sought to be dispensed during the sanding operation.

A further object of the present invention is to provide heating means for insuring that the sand or other particulate material used in the operation is not frozen or otherwise disadvantaged in being dispensed therefrom.

A further object of the present invention is to provide belt tighteners at each end of the belt shaft so that the bearing thereon is mounted on a bracket which is raised or lowered and the motor on the bracket operates positively to insure that sand and other particulate material is dispensed therefrom.

A further object of the present invention is to provide an agitator on a bearing shaft driven by a pulley arrangement so that the particulate material on the sander is always assured of being dispensed and this is achieved as well by providing an auger shaft.

A further object of the present invention is to Provide heating means for maintaining the particular material in a non-frozen and non-solid state or condition.

The above and other objects and advantages of the invention will become apparent upon full consideration of the following detailed description and accompanying drawings in which:

FIGURE 1 is a generally perspective view showing in broken away portions the paramount and principal part of the preferred embodiment of the present invention;

FIGURE 2. is a generally planned view thereof shown in broken away view and partially in cross-section as is apparent therefrom; and

FIGURE 3 is a cross-sectional view taken along lines 3-3 of FIGURE 2.

3,399,917 Patented Sept. 3, 1968 Referring now to the drawings there is shown a power truck sander 10 mounted from a supporting bracket 12, 12 which is supported from the structural I-beam of the truck or other vehicle to which it is adapted to be used. The vehicle is shown as having right wheel 16' and a left wheel 17 and it is clear that the construction and mounting of the wheels with the transmission and driving means therefor are of conventional and ordinary construction apparatus. In the power truck sander apparatus 10 there is provided a container 18 having dispensing tubes 20-, 20 extending from the bottom thereof, and in which there is a power truck sander mounted ahead of each of the wheels 16, 17, respectively. The arrows 22, 22 show the manner in which the sand is dispensed through the tubes 29, 20 and is directed to the ground surface immediately ahead of the wheels 17 and 16, respectively.

Within each of the containers or dispensing mechanism container 18, there is an anger having its helical portions obversely arranged to each other and serially arranged on a shaft 26 so that the sand is directed to each of the tubes or dispensing means 20, 20, respectively. The shaft 26 is driven by a belt drive 28 from a shaft 30' which is seen driven from a belt drive 32 by a motor 34. The motor 34 provides the driving mechanism for each of the augers 24 of the containers 18, 18, respectively. In each of the arrangements shown, there is a belt tightener mechanism means 38, 38, as well as the tightener mechanism 40 on which the motor 34 is mounted at each end of the arrangement so that the bearings and the bracket arrangement are adapted to be raised and lowered for tightening and loosening of the driving belt mechanisms.

Also driven by the drive mechanisms of belt 28 is a shaft 44 driven by a spur gear 46 which is connected to shaft 26 for driving and rotating the shaft 44 about its own axis, and in this way the shaft 44 with the assistance of distributing means 48 is seen to distribute the sand throughout the container 18. The sand remains in particulate material while being fed to the auger 24, 24, and is thus fed separately along arrows 56, 56 to the tubes 20, 20.

Within the purview of the invention, there is provided a tubular connection 60 for the ingress of heated air along a pipe 62 which is coupled by a connection 64- to the exhaust gases of the internal combustion engine (not shown).

On the top of the container 18, there is provided a cap or cover 70' so that the sand remains dry and free from contamination from exterior sources. While the heated air driven into the container 18 through tubular connections 64-62 and 60 provides means for heating and driving out the moisture that may be resident in the sand therefrom, the sand to be distributed is processed for distribution at a higher temperature than the freezing temperature environmental thereto under winter conditions.

The exhaust gases from the tubular connections 60 in the compartments 18 are vented through perforations 60" in those portions of the tubes 20 with the said compartments 18 so that the sand may be emitted by force.

The motor 34 may be a DC motor mounted between angle irons 12, 12 and is furnished with current from the trucks battery.

It is seen that the heating system provided in the invention has connected to the exhaust system thereof an internal combustion engine by pipe 64 which transfers exhaust gas to the compartment 18 under the augers 24, 24 for the purpose of heating the sand to keep the material from freezing to the augers and also to keep the material from lumping.

Additional embodiments of the invention in this specification will occur to others and therefore it is intended that the scope of the invention be limited only by the appended claim and not by the embodiment described hereinabove. Accordingly, reference should be made to the following claim in determining the full scope of the invention.

What is claimed is:

11. A power truck sander apparatus comprising a pair of angle irons transversely mounted on a vehicle and extending in front of each of the driving wheels of the truck to be provided with sand, at compartment mounted on each of the ends of the angle irons and directly in front of such driving wheels, a transversely disposed, rotatably mounted shaft for an auger mounted by bearing on the bottom of each of said compartments for distributing and dispensing sand to a tubular outlet at each side thereof so that sand is dispensed from the outlet to a point directly ahead of each of the wheels of said truck, a rotatable shaft mounted also by bearings transversely of said compartments and parallel to the auger shaft for agitating the sand in said compartments, driving means for said auger shaft including a belt drive means connected to an electric motor, gear means from said auger shaft to the agitating shaft, a pipe connected from the exhaust of an internal combustion engine to the compartments for transferring exhaust gases to the compartments under the augers for heating the sand material to keep it from freezing to the :augers, adjustable mounting means for each of the drive shafts between the motor and the auger shafts for tightening the drive mechanism, and a container cover for the container, the heated material within the container being maintained at a temperature above the environmental weather condition external thereof when the pipe connected to the container receives exhaust gases.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 860,611 7/ 1907 Sester 239-673 1,509,029 9/1924 Phillips 29119 1,877,475 9/1932 Cowan 29119 2,371,274 3/1945 Weigold 29119 2,681,242 6/1954 Wandroil 291-33 ARTHUR L. LA POINT, Primary Examiner.

H. BELTRAN, Assistant Examiner. 

